Improving The Way Loan Mods Are Delivered

First American Outsourcing and Technology Solutions can now send up to 25,000 loan modification packages a day to distressed homeowners around the nation thanks to a new, innovative logistics program the company created with FedEx that streamlines the way modifications are processed and delivered.

The company, which is located in Dallas, electronically delivers completed loan mod packages to a dedicated FedEx fulfillment center in Memphis, allowing the production window for loan modifications by an additional eight hours per day.

“We wanted to get ahead of the curve and make sure that we had the scale and capacity to meet the needs of the servicers and to support the activities we’ve experienced over the last couple of quarters with increased volume for loan modifications,” Randy Gilster, director of First American’s outsourcing and technology solutions business line.

“We were able to create a more efficient process to be able to improve the timeline, improve the quality and incorporate additional auditing controls in the process.”

FedEx prints, packages and delivers these loan-mod packages to homeowners nationwide the next day. It tracks the deliveries and notifies First American of their arrival.

“The big deal for us was that we speed up delivery because we move delivery through our hub,” said Jess Bunn, a spokesperson for FedEx.
At the hub in Memphis, you can drop off packages as late as around midnight. And they will be delivered to anywhere in the country by 8:30 in the morning. With that in place, First American is able to take advantage of the fulfillment center, send out documents later, get to customers earlier and turn the process around a lot more quickly.”

Within minutes of notification, First American counselors or client call centers follow-up with outbound homeowner calls, walking them through the offers and the acceptance process. Signed loan modification documents are returned to First American via a reusable, custom FedEx envelope specifically designed for the program.

Throughout the process, First American and its servicer clients are able to monitor modification status online. Once modifications are returned, they are scanned and imaged so that servicers and investors can view them online.

The new arrangement will increase the company’s productivity, accelerate the acceptance process and lower costs, says Mr. Gilster. From a loss mitigation perspective, First American deals with seven of the top 10 servicers.

Typically, call center for First American volume increases on Monday mornings, often because it’s the time that the borrower has the opportunity to review the documents. “But our success rate and our response rate has been relatively high for us being able to actually be in contact with the consumer within minutes of FedEx delivering the package.”

Before this program was launched, the response rate was more “reactive,” said Mr. Glister, because First American didn’t have notifications such as, when the package was delivered. “We certainly see increased volumes based on the amount of information that our clients are sending out to the borrowers.”

In some cases based on the amount that is capitalized, based on the type of loan and investor guidelines if it does require recordation, the documents are in a recordable format.

“If the investor guidelines require us to record them, then once we get the executed package back we do send it off to be recorded. We generate investor dashboard reports back to our clients to show them the state of that loan on a daily basis. They are able to track their portfolio and see the documents returned and the call attempts made to the consumer.”